Apple JUST quietly announced something that’s a lot BIGGER than it looks: "the Mini Apps Partner Program" Apple is admitting that the future of software is embedded, lightweight, vertical mini-apps distributed inside bigger app For founders who want to make $$ building apps: 1. Apple just legitimized the “superapp” model for the West. China has WeChat mini-programs. India has PhonePe Switch. The West has… nothing. Apple just opened the door. You can now run HTML/JS mini-apps inside a native host and earn 85% on qualifying purchases. That’s Apple-sanctioned platform piggybacking. 2. Distribution arbitrage becomes real again. You don’t need to convince users to download your app. Just partner with a host app and drop in a mini-app. This is a cheat code for early traction. Think: travel apps hosting niche tools, fitness apps hosting mini workouts, marketplaces hosting micro-utilities. 3. Apple is creating a new economy layer: “embedded SaaS.” Imagine: CRM mini-apps inside vertical tools. Math solver mini-apps inside education apps. Calendar mini-apps inside productivity apps. The TAM for tools that don’t need standalone installs just went vertical. 4. Developers get an 85% revenue share. This is Apple basically saying: “We want this ecosystem to grow, and we’re willing to cut our take rate.” When Apple lowers its cut, I pay attention because they see a platform shift coming. 5. AI makes this 10× more important. LLM-powered micro-apps (calculators, planners, agents, coaches, niche utilities) are tiny by design. They’re perfect mini-apps. Apple just created infrastructure for AI-native micro utilities to live inside bigger apps with built-in commerce. 6. Host apps become new “distribution landlords.” If you own an app with traffic, you become a platform. You can host mini-apps, take a cut, and build a developer ecosystem around you. It’s a new monetization model for existing apps with audiences. 7. This unlocks a wave of second-order opportunities. - Agencies helping apps become mini-app hosts - Mini-app dev shops - “Shopify for mini-apps” toolkits - Mini-app marketplaces - Analytics for mini-app performance - Discovery engines for mini-apps - I'll be dropping mini app ideas on @ideabrowser and @startupideaspod TLDR; Apple just turned every high-traffic app into a potential superapp and every indie developer into a potential platform partner. The App Store is becoming modular, composable, and layered. The next decade of consumer apps will look less like standalone products and more like ecosystems stitched together with mini-apps. This is quietly one of the biggest distribution unlocks in years.